Responding to the publication of Community Inegrated Care's new Unfair to Care report, Dr Rhidian hughes, Chief Executive of VODG says:
‘The latest Unfair to Care report provides unique insight into the stark disparity between the health and social care workforce, directly impacting the ability of social care organisations to meet the growing demand for support.
‘Third sector providers have a critical role to play in the delivery of social care services, but cannot meet the needs of disabled people or their families without sufficient funding. The government has repeatedly failed to meet the funding challenges of today and consequently, many charities are left delivering services where staffing and operating costs outstrip commissioned fee rates.
‘Political parties must stop burying their heads in the sand and work with the sector to put social care on a surer footing. This means addressing the pay gap between health and social care, which undermines integration and disrupts vital service provision. Without investment and greater value given to the social care workforce, essential support will cease to exist, the impact of which will be felt acutely by the NHS, local communities and especially the most vulnerable in our society.’
Key Messages
This report from Community Integrated Care, Korn Ferry and YouGov builds an evidence-based case for investing in fair pay to deliver better lives for people in receipt of social care, a more cost-effective and sustainable health and care service and wider economic growth and productivity. Some of the key findings are below:
- The social care workforce in England in 2023 was 1.52 million people
- Support Workers need a 36% uplift to have parity with their NHS counterpart, which equates to £7617
- 95% of adults in England say that social care workers are important to society
- 70% pf the public believe that social care workers should be paid the same as their equivalents in the NHS
- 8 in 10 MPs agree that the next government must act to improve pay, and terms and conditions for social care work.
Who Care Wins: Unfiar to Care 2024 report can be found here, along with ways to support the campaign: www.unfairtocare.co.uk